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Grain trade ramping up between Brazil and China

Grain trade is ramping up between two big players on the global market.

Joana Colussi, a post-doctoral student at the University of Illinois originally from Brazil, tells Brownfield a recent trade agreement creates the potential for corn exports from Brazil to China to reach 50 million metric tons in 2023.

“In 2022 Brazil hit a record in corn exports with just two months of that agreement with China; November and December. Because of that, there is a huge expectation that Brazil could increase even more its exports to China regarding corn in 2023 and may surpass the United States in the amount of corn exports in general.”

And China is already a strong partner in Brazilian soybean exports. She says with the projection for record corn and soybean production in Brazil this season and high depreciation of Brazil’s currency compared to the US dollar, Brazil is in a good place to export grain.

Brownfield interviewed Colussi at the Illinois Farm Economics Summit in Mt. Vernon.